CommLab India and Lancaster University launch AI workplace learning workshops

CommLab India and Lancaster University are kicking off a global workshop series in Hyderabad on July 22, 2026, to co-design how AI should reshape workplace learning. The work matters because it moves enterprise learning leaders from studying AI adoption to building practical frameworks for learning workflows, governance and L&D roles.

Why it matters: - The workshop series is designed to help enterprise learning leaders shape how AI changes workplace learning systems, not just react to it. - Findings from the sessions are expected to become practical frameworks organizations can use to integrate AI into learning responsibly and effectively. - The effort targets a core challenge for L&D teams: balancing speed, quality, governance, personalization and human judgment.

What happened: - CommLab India and Lancaster University launched the first workshop in a planned global Change Laboratory series under their joint research initiative, WorkLearning.AI. - The inaugural session is taking place in Hyderabad and brings together enterprise learning leaders from leading global organizations. - Dr. Brett Bligh, director of Lancaster University's Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning, and Dr. RK Prasad, CEO and co-founder of CommLab India and principal investigator of WorkLearning.AI, jointly facilitated the workshop. - The workshop marks the start of Phase 3 of the research program.

The details: - The Change Laboratory method is grounded in Activity Theory. - The format asks participants to work directly with researchers to surface organizational problems and co-design solutions. - The workshop is intended to be a working session, not a conventional tools demo or training session. - Phases 1 and 2 included a global survey and in-depth case studies across the technology, pharmaceutical, financial services, manufacturing and energy sectors. - Those earlier phases identified recurring issues around productivity, governance, human judgment, capability development and organizational transformation. - Phase 3 is focused on questions including how learning workflows should evolve in an AI-enabled environment and where human judgment should remain central. - The workshop series also asks how organizations can balance speed, quality, governance and personalization. - The program is examining what new roles and capabilities L&D teams will need. - WorkLearning.AI combines Lancaster University's research into organizational and technology-enhanced learning with CommLab India's 25-plus years of enterprise learning delivery experience. - Organizations interested in future workshops can contact info@commlabindia.com or visit CommLab India's website.

Between the lines: - The shift from survey-based research to live co-design suggests the partners want outputs that are immediately usable by practitioners. - The emphasis on governance and human judgment signals that AI adoption in workplace learning is being framed as an operating-model issue, not only a technology decision. - The global workshop format may help the research capture differences across industries and regions while building a common playbook.

What's next: - Additional Change Laboratory workshops will follow with participating organizations in other regions as the program continues. - Results from the workshops will feed into frameworks meant to guide AI integration into workplace learning. - WorkLearning.AI will continue studying AI in the broader context of organizational learning systems through surveys, enterprise case studies and collaborative workshops.